Chicken
by Mello McQueen
Summary: Peter isn't a coward, but unfortunately for him, neither is Gabriel.


**Written By: **Hikari Riku

**Pairing(s): **None

**Authoress Note(s): **It scares me how easy it was for me to write this, considering how I've been struggling lately with the simplest of things.

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**Chicken

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It's a game. A stupid childish game, Chicken. It's so ridiculous, in fact, that even as he stands on the ledge of a skyscraper looking down into the deserted alley below, Peter can't quite figure out why he's still playing.

Then he hears a soft laugh from beside him and looking to his left just in time to see a tennis shoe being dropped over the edge, Peter remembers.

"Wow,_ we are really high up." _Gabriel says, giving a slow whistle to emphasis his point as he stands beside him, staring down with an amazed look on his face.

Peter glares, more than aware of Gabriel's plan to psych him out. Inwardly, he affirms that he is not going to let this happen, so instead he rolls his eyes and says with as much bravado as he can manage: "Yeah, yeah, and everyone looks like ants from up here. I get it, alright? Can we go?"

Of course, he should know by now that Gabriel can see right through him, still he almost feels a sense of anger towards the other man, when he looks at him with a raised eyebrow and replies:

"How can you be so eager when you're so _scared_?"

On that last word, a familiar amused yet almost cruel smile graces his features. It's a look that Peter hates to see, because it reminds him terribly of a lifetime before. Consequently, he's forced to look away. "I'm not scared." he mutters to the ledge beneath his feet.

Gabriel snorts in disbelief. "Fine, whatever. Are you ready?" Peter looks at him for a moment than, despite his better judgement, nods.

The result is instantaneous. There's no count of 1, 2, 3, just the slight shift in their weights, and then Peter is falling, dropping like a rock with his arms spread wide as though to somehow slow his fall.

For a moment, he simply enjoys the feeling, then slowly he turns his head to the side with difficulty and looks at Gabriel, falling right along side him. His eyes are closed, and his arms are spread out the same as Peter's so that, for a fraction of a second as they fall, Peter can feel their fingers touch.

Half a minute later, Gabriel starts laughing. Not aloud but in his head, so that Peter can hear it even over the rush of the wind in his ears. He thinks, _"I bet I hit the ground first." _and Peter watches as that smile returns.

It makes him wary, and though he knows he shouldn't, Peter turns his head so that he's looking down again, just in time to see the ground come rushing up at him.

From there, his reaction is purely instinctual. An image of Nathan at a party, flashes in his mind. He's pissed off about something, but nonetheless smiling at the sight of his little brother and for a moment as he falls, Peter can feel the happiness that smile gave him.

It's enough to make him soar.

Gabriel on the other hand, continues to fall crashing down onto the roof of an old car parked below. The noise of his body smashing against the front of the hood is deafening. Made worse by the care alarms that instantly begin to blare out of the broken vehicle.

Somewhere inside the building a dog starts barking, and Peter's acute hearing tells him that people inside are starting to look out the window. A moment later he hears a scream, and the sound of cell phones being put to speed dial.

Quickly, Peter lands beside the car. Gabriel is lying motionless on top of the hood, his eyes staring up at the blue cloudless sky above and for a moment, Peter thinks he might really be dead.

"Gabriel?" He says, his heart beating faster in his chest as he climbs haphazardly onto the hood, not quite feeling the glass embedding itself into his skin. "Gabriel?" He repeats, putting a hand on his shoulder and shaking him slightly.

He knows he's alive now, he can hear the sound of his heart beating. He can also hear the sound of sirens only a few blocks away and the sound of people rushing down the stairs towards them. "Gabriel!" Peter shouts, shaking him none to gently this time. No reaction.

He scowls, and leans closer. "_Sylar_." he says, this time not bothering to shout and not daring to do more than whisper. At that one word, Gabriel's eyes move slowly in his direction, narrowing slightly in anger.

"Don't call me that." He says, his voice slurring, thick with shock.

"Sorry but you were catatonic," Peter says honestly, then stops to listen for the sirens, "and the police are coming."

Gabriel's eyes move away from him and in the other direction, so that Peter knows he hears them too. A minute later, he groans in pain, or frustration-Peter isn't sure which-and slowly pulls himself out of the windshield, giving a slight shake in an effort to dispel the remnants of shock from the fall.

As Peter slides off the hood and helps him down, he watches tiny bits of broken glass dislodge themselves from Gabriel's skin, as his wounds begin to heal. Trying not to cringe at the sight and give the other more incentive for the next round of their game, he asks: "Can you walk?"

There is a moment of hesitation as Gabriel tests his feet on the ground, then gives a slight nod even as he puts an arm around Peter's shoulders for support. "Well, mostly." he expresses at the look he's given, and the two walk away from the scene, barely managing to clear it in time to avoid confrontation with the law.

Three blocks later, he's still leaning on Peter, even though they both know he can walk by now, when suddenly he says "wait," and stops dead nearly causing them both to topple to the ground.

"What?" Peter asks, with a feeling of great apprehension..

There's a pause as Gabriel stares down at his feet, then:

"Peter, where's my shoe?"

**

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Finis

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**Authoress Note(s):** Comments?


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